United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

Topic A: Israeli-Palestinian ConflictThe conflict in Palestine is one of the most contentious and precarious issues currently facing the United Nations. The conflict between Israelis and Arab-Palestinians extends back to the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which fulfilled the centuries-long Zionist vision of denoting Israel as a homeland for Jews across the world. At the time, the region was already home to over a million Palestinian Arabs who came to oppose the flood of European Jews to Israel. Since then, there have been innumerable conflicts, treaties, and negotiations that have attempted to resolve the many land disputes in areas like the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, and the Sinai Peninsula. In the last century, American, Arab, and European forces have become involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and many have dedicated their lives to pursuing a resolution. Debating this issue will require delegates to be innovative, cooperative, well-informed on the history of the conflict, and fully respectful of others’ views.

Topic B: Taiwan-China RelationsHome to twenty-three million people, Taiwan is an island in the Pacific Ocean. Taiwan’s status as an independence state from its close neighbor, the People’s Republic of China, has been disputed since 1949, when the Communist party took control of Beijing and the rival Kuomintang party established itself in the capital city of Taipei. Today, the people of Taiwan, who officially call themselves the Republic of China, enjoy a democratic government and possess a strong ethnic identity that is increasingly independent from that of the mainland Chinese. In 1992, the Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang political party reached an agreement stating the existence of only “one China”. However, this did little to resolve the conflict, as both parties believe themselves to be the legitimate government of China. Since 1954, there has been a military buildup across the Taiwan Strait, with both sides receiving supplies from the United States. Given the rise of these economic and political powerhouses, the status of Taiwan-China relations is an important issue for all nations.